SQ Lab Cycling – Maximising Performance & Comfort
Innovation & Excellence in Cycling Science
Words by Robert & Images by Ben Thorpe
None of us are the same – literally none of us. If 2 twins ate the same things, walked in exactly the same footsteps, and grew in the same way, their foot pressure measurements would vary, due to how they actually walked. And yet, we all seem quite happy to walk into a bike shop and take a new bike straight of the stand, accepting that the contact points – the handlebars, the saddle and the cranks are all perfect for us. They’re not, and in truth they very rarely are; which is why the majority of cyclists are riding in discomfort or not able to perform to their maximum.
Visiting Euro Bike this July was enlightening for me, seeing SQ Lab taking centre stage, with their appliance of science, in helping cyclists to find their own perfect fit on the bike. I’ve worked closely with Hutch, from Lake Cycling Shoes for over two years now, and he’s educated me on cyclist’s feet. He’s also pointed out the benefits of a detailed and accurate bike fitting, and I’m sold on it. These were also points that already interested me, and I’ve frequently advised cycling friends that the pain between their shoulders may be down to handlebar width; or that the wrist pain may be a result of incorrect handlebar shape and positioning of the levers.
SQ Lab – Science Quantified for Cyclists
Talking with Nina from the SQ Lab team, we spent a long time being shown through their software and how it analyses the smallest details right across the cyclist’s body. From their normal stance, how they sit, to the width of their hands and how they place them onto handlebars, SQ Lab are interested in every aspect in their quest to deliver the optimal ride for every cyclist.
Their saddles are probably the most scientifically designed in the industry and forgo any unnecessary elements in structure or design. They function purely how you need them to, becoming a part of you and maximising your ride position based on how your body is actually shaped and the correct measurements of your sit bones, including the pressure that they put down being accurately mapped. All of this in turn, informs the bike fitting expert how your feet operate on the pedals and allows them to correctly analyse and adjust this further element. The body is a complex structure that works in unison, and SQ Lab showed the visitors at Euro Bike, the importance of understanding the relationships at each and every point of contact, and how our skeletal structure and individual biometrics operate with the bike.
Are you sitting comfortably
SQ Lab take detailed saddle measurements using width of the sit bones, ensuring that you are properly supported. Failing to have the correct saddle width can lead to numerous problems elsewhere, as well as pain when riding. SQ Lab provide all saddle models in 4 different widths, ensuring that, whatever your own measurements, you’ll be sitting comfortably all ride long. Their ‘step saddle’ concept also creates relief for cyclists in the important and sensitive seat areas of the body for both sexes.
Strong foundations for the perfect ride
Their scientific and quantified processes take extensive measurements of your feet too, looking at base joint positions so that they can accurately assess the correct cleat placement for every rider. Along with other measurements and analysis, they’ll also recommend cranks and crank lengths. In terms of your hands and bike grips and gloves, SQ Lab take detailed measurements here too, and mark out the correct fitting for handlebars, grips and gloves, even providing cycle gloves in various width fittings –something that no other brand matches. Their ergo bars are designed to match how you use your hands and how they grip onto handlebars, optimising comfort and performance.
When looking at the feet and legs, it’s not simply the arch and sole that gets analysed; SQ Lab also measure and analyse your leg structure and natural stance. It’s critical to know whether you have a perfectly straight leg stance, a slight bow at the knee, or knock knees. All of this affects how your pedal action operates. They’ll bring all of this information together and create the perfect cycling shoe insoles for you; ensuring that your comfort and performance is maximised at this critical and hard-working contact point.
Quality counts – because only the best will do
Once SQ Lab have examined you in nearly as much detail as a gloved physician – but not quite 😉 – they’ll show you the right products from their industry-leading products of saddles, handlebars, stems, insoles, pedals and lots more, including their range of high-performance, high-quality cycle clothing. Only then can you ride away in comfort, safe in the knowledge that you’ve finally found the perfect fit for your own cycling needs.
It’s too easy to simply walk into a bike shop, or to look online and to purchase what seems like a great offer. Too frequently though, a large percentage of cyclists are riding incorrectly fitting bikes, with issues that are adverse to their fitness, maybe even their health, and most certainly affecting their cycling enjoyment. The contact bikes of the bike are individual to each of us, and we need to take due regard to ensuring that they’re correct for our own biometrics and physiology. SQ Lab are focused on doing this for us, and they’ve developed a quite remarkable system for doing so. Plain and simply, they measure every aspect of you and how you use the bike. Even the cycling kit that the brand produce is kept to necessary designs, with the right amount of compression in the right areas, and the right fabrics in the right place.
In short, SQ Lab typify German excellence in science and technology at its very best, and they’re a brand that all serious cyclists ought to look at when choosing a bike, or upgrading – or simply to ensure that you’re maximising comfort and performance.
Attending shows such as Euro Bike can be daunting, tiring and taxing, as we wander seamlessly between the multitude of stands. However, SQ Labs provided not only a bright, open, well-laid out and professionally looking place to rest a while. They also provided us with new insights and knowledge regarding the contact point comfort science within cycling. Over the next few months, we’ll be speaking in more detail to Nina and the team at their base in Bavaria and seeing how Ben and Nadezhda can benefit fit from the unique SQ Lab appliance of cycling science.
In the interim, why not take a look at the SQ Lab website yourself and find your nearest SQ Lab partner. Isn’t it time that you treated yourself to the perfect ride – with German engineering excellence, in the application of cycling science.
